Today I am talking to some friends in an after death group. We are discussing reincarnation. Most of us in the group believe in reincarnation, in one form or another, but none of us is in love with the idea of being forced to return to live here again. Some people push back really hard against the idea of reincarnation. One person goes so far as to say that if they in the Spirit world try to force her to reincarnate, she’s going to go find a spot in-between dimensions to slip into and hide.
When I go to bed, I read a book by a mother who is in touch with her son who committed suicide. It’s the most detailed description of the afterlife I have read yet. Man, I’m so ready to go. They come around to the topic of reincarnation. He says some people prefer it there, some people prefer it here. And he acknowledges that most people here don’t exactly relish the thought of coming back. In fact, he points out that usually about the time we have figured out we have landed here and when the spiritual amnesia that makes us forget what we truly are and where we came from kicks in, we immediately start longing for Home. But, once we get back there, many of us sign up again.
Why would we do this? Why would we go through the pain, the uncertainty, the challenges? Well, there’s something about us that seems to like those very things, just a litle bit anyway. Maybe in measured doses. I’m not an adventurer. I’m not even much of a traveler. My 80 year old mother is on a cruise ship right now. She posted a picture from the ship as they left Venice, headed for Croatia, Turkey and I don’t even know where else. Have fun, Mom. I hear of people doing things like sky diving, climbing Mt. Everest, and the like and I think they are straight up crazy. I like my creature comforts. Climbing Everest would be a helluva achievement, but I’m not about to spend the time, the money, endure the cold and risk my life to do it. But, would I do it if I knew there was zero risk? Would I do it if the cold were only temporary and I’d only have to endure as much as I could take? Probably.
I don’t travel not because I don’t want to see the sights. I do. Earth has some things that are almost impossible to imagine. But, money is limited and I hate the hassle of packing, going through airports, living in hotels, the uncertainty of it all. If I could just think of Venice and be there, I’d go. If I could blink my eyes and be at base camp of Everest and have a limited adventure, maybe I’d do it.
I suspect that when we get back to where we came from, in spite of the hell Earth can be at times, the more adventurous of us (could that be me?) actually crave coming back here for another chance to test our skills. While I’m not much for adventure outside of the house, I love a good video game. And a good video game isn’t easy to win. It forces you to test your skills, it pushes you to your limits, it causes you to forget you’re just sitting on your couch and you become the character you’re playing. That is, you become that character right up until the moment he dies. Once he falls in the lava or is eaten by the Boss, you snap back to reality, realize you are you still sitting on your couch. And, you mostly likely hit the reset button and try again.
